There is considerable variation across Canadian industries in the extent
of union coverage. The public sector and the educational-services sector
are the most unionized; agriculture, finance, and retail trade are the least
unionized.
(distributed on an “as is” basis with the permission of Statistics Canada.)Source: Adapted from Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 282-0077. Reproduced and
Despite the relatively low degree of unionization among Canada’s
private-sector workers, unions have a considerable influence in the
private sector. One reason is the impact that union wage contracts have
on other labour markets. When, for example, Unifor negotiates a new
contract with an automobile producer in Oshawa, its provisions set a
pattern that directly or indirectly affects other labour markets, both in
Ontario and in other provinces. A second reason is the important role
that unions have played in the past 50 years in the development of labour
market practices and in lobbying for legislation that applies to all workers.
In this section, we discuss the process of collective bargaining and, in
particular, examine the inherent conflict that unions face between striving
for higher wages and for increasing employment.